Species IUCN Status

Vulnerable

Projects (Locations)

carbonplus, fisheries, guatemala, sarstun

Thomas’ sac-winged bat, the smallest bat of its genus, can be found in the forests and non-aquatic caves of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of the bats’ dependence on a highly fragile habitat. Over the past 10 years, more than 30 percent of the caves and forests that these bats inhabit have been lost to deforestation, cave vandalism, and human disturbance. For example, tours of caves in Belize that house Thomas’ sac-winged bats can average 800 people per day, have been documented to cause fragmentation in the large bat populations that inhabit these caves.

EcoLogic Development Fund empowers rural and indigenous peoples to restore and protect tropical ecosystems in Central America and Mexico.